Colors of the Rose
by Sorrow-Weaver
Summary: I really suck at summaries so it's a Gaara love story mainly for the Gaara fangirls out there such as myself. The first few chapters take place in his childhood and the romance is between Gaara dn Kasumi; a girl who can manipulate/create snow and ice.
1. Chapter 1 Winter's Rose

Resting soberly on the lonesome, wooden swing dangling from an open branch, I watched as the other children played, their eyes not bothering to take notice of my presence. Laying my stuffed bear over my lap, I grasped the twin ropes at my sides, swaying myself slightly back and forth with my toes. There was a new occupant of the village, her long, white hair billowing behind her as she ran. Her eyes, however, contradicted her albino locks with a serene brown, as if her face was the ground covered in snow, her eyes the bark of the trees acting as a hospitable host for the cold. As she spun around, those eyes caught a glimpse of me, becoming fixated on my shrouded being. Abandoning the other children that laughed and indulged themselves in the joy I was deprived, the girl walked over to me, her eyes wide and curious.

She came directly in front of me, something I hadn't expected of her. She tilted her head to one side, "Boy, why are you sitting all alone?" she asked innocently.

Originally, I was awestruck by her approach, unable to speak let alone moisten my eyes. After that had passed, I spoke in segments, "No one… wants to play… with me…"

"Why not?" she continued to question.

"They… just don't…" I lied, for fear that if she knew the truth; the only person ever to converse with me too would flee.

"I could play with you." She graciously offered, a shy smile underlining her large eyes.

My eyes widened with joy, the warmth of something fluffy igniting across my body. "R-Really?!" I asked, a smile beginning to take root on my lips.

She nodded her head up and down, that shy grin growing larger. "Mmhmm!" she clarified, when suddenly a sharp gasp nearly screeched from the left. A tall man stood petrified in the center of the golden road leading to the park, a horrified deformity cast over his face.

"Kasumi!" he exclaimed, rushing over to the girl before me. With his teeth bared, he shot a hatful glance at me, then caged her little hand in his palm. "That bastard," he muttered, as I am occasionally called, "I told you never to go near him!" The man dragged his moonlit haired child away; her deep brown eyes watching me innocently as the pair began to depart.

"But uncle, I want to play with him." the girl protested. The man—her uncle—stopped in mid stride, his expression frozen with a mixture of shock and fear. "Y-You… what?"

"I wanna play with him." She repeated, her eyes gazing upon him with childish determination. Even I was bewildered by her words, for even the youngest of children fled from me in a trembling fear. My jaw dropped with my emotion evident even through the lack of eyebrows on my face.

The man's eyes flickered from his niece to me and back, hatred and concern riddled within the gesture. "There are plenty of other kids you can play with Kasumi." He claimed, his grip seeming more as a claw over her palm. Then, in a hushed murmur just loud enough for my ears to receive his comment, he added, "Plenty of other kids that aren't monsters like him…" With a scornful glance over his shoulder toward me, he and the girl marched further into the dirt roads veining the village, escaping my sight soon after. Once again, my only companion returned, smothering a particular area beneath my young chest. I slid off the wooden plank of my swing, and with my plush toy nestled against my body, solemnly roamed the fringes of my dearly hostile birthplace.


	2. Chapter 2 The Bloody Lady

_The Bloody Lady:_

KASUMI'S POV:

As the boy's nearly tearful figure became devoured by the solid walls of the adobe my uncle and I rounded, I fixated a pouting glare upon my guardian. "Uncle Haru, why can't I play with him?!" I asked in a whining tone.

"Why do you _want_ to play with him?!" he retorted.

"He seems so sad and lonely…" I answered, my eyes drooping at the thought of his cheerless sway on the makeshift play set he rested on earlier.

"Kasumi," my uncle sighed, "Some people are better off that way."

"Why?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as we continued to walk. "Did he do something wrong?"

"You have no idea…" He muttered, shaking his head.

________________________________________________________________________

GAARA'S POV:

The angel of darkness had crept upon the sunbathed village once more, surrendering the earth below to the lustful shadows awaiting her infinite birth. While my siblings retired to their luxurious beds for the night, along with most everyone else in Suna, I continued to saunter aimlessly wherever I pleased. Only the waddling town drunks solicited the streets along side me, though even they cringed at my sight, cautiously stumbling backwards from my direction. As I strolled past one of the many dome- like buildings spotting the village, the faint whimpers of a young soul shivered into my ears. I turned my gaze to an open window with island green curtains fluttering into the nightly breeze above me, the angelic cries protruding from there as well. Shortly after, a light flashed on, expelling the luminosity into my darkness.

"Kasumi, what's wrong?" a gentle, feminine voice asked, her silhouette sitting next to the smaller one against the wall.

_Kasumi… I've heard that name before…_ I thought, attempting to retrieve the lost memory. _Oh yeah, that girl that talked to me today! Why is _she _crying?_

"Auntie Mai," the little girl wailed, though kept her soft volume intact, "The bloody lady's gonna get me!"

"Oh Kasumi," the woman cooed, "It was just a bad dream. She's not going to get you."

"Yes she is!" she contradicted. "She's gonna get me like she did mom and dad!"

"Shh… it's okay…" her aunt placed her arm over the girl's shoulder, stroking her long, smooth hair, "I'm not gonna let her get you… it's alright…" Kasumi nestled herself into the woman's chest, the sound of her tears continuing to fall. Eventually, the sobs began to dim in volume, until the only noise emitting from the open window was that of an occasional sniffle.

"Thanks auntie," Kasumi's voice chimed, "I'm fine now."

"Okay, good." The other's silhouette kissed the little girl's atop the head, turned the light off, and clicked the door shut immediately after.

I remained inanimate outside the area for a short while, my premature mind attempting to plot the story fueling the girl's words.

"Hey," a high pitched, congested voice came. I brought my eyes to face the window they had abandoned, the wispy strands of white hair flowing in the breeze greeting them, "Aren't you that boy I met earlier?"

"Gaara." I told her.

"Oh. I'm Kasumi." She replied, leaning her delicate figure against the windowsill. "Sorry my uncle wouldn't let me play with you today."

"It's fine." I assured her, a frown beginning to tug at my lips.

"We could play tomorrow." She suggested.

"Uh- um, okay…" I agreed, hesitant to select words that hadn't come from my questioning thoughts.

"Hey, why aren't you asleep?" she asked, that curious tilt returning to her posture.

"I… can't…"

"Hmm? Why?"

"It's… hard to explain… Anyway, are you okay? I heard you crying earlier, so…"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled lightly, swiping a fist under her clogged nostrils as she sniffed heavily. "I just had a nightmare."

"Okay…" I paused before asking my next question, "What… was it about…?"

"Something that happened to my family…" she yawned, "I'll tell you tomorrow. I'm too tired right now."

"Oh, okay." I replied.

"Good night." She bid.

"Good night."

With that, she grasped the brass handles of the strewn open windowpanes, and pulled the pair together until the window was complete.

"Good night," I repeated, "My friend…"


End file.
